I have a brief request to the Leader to raise an issue with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, or with Revenue. I recently changed my car and the garage proprietor brought me out to his yard and showed me a whole fleet of new cars which are bound and unable to move because of a backlog in registration. The good news is that car sales are apparently up significantly but it looks like there is not a sufficient workforce to cope. People might want to buy a car with a 241 registration plate but some of them…

The Leader wants me to get up early.

I would like to join my colleague, Senator Shane Cassells, in expressing the condolences of the Fianna Fáil Party to John Bruton's wife, Finola, and family at this sad time for them. I did not have the pleasure of knowing John Bruton personally but he was someone I always genuinely admired for his integrity, directness and courage. I actually did encounter him once or twice. I was on a deputation here one time when I was a youngish councillor. I was trying to remember what the event was and I am the indebted to Sen…

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I appreciate his indulgence. I am sorry for being late. I had a difficult passage. I had to chop down a few trees, ford a few streams and kill a few men to get here-----

-----but I would not have missed this for anything. I will say a few words about my dear friend Senator Norris, who is a legend in his own lifetime and who gave a lifetime of service to the House. I am very proud to say that I spent 16 years with him and got to know and respect him highly. He is beloved throughout the country. If we ever had visitors to the Houses, they would naturally want to see the Taoiseach or the Tánaiste, but the next person they would always want to see was David Norris, which they brought b…

-----but I am glad I made it. Thank you so much, Cathaoirleach.

The Minister of State is welcome. He has ten minutes to make his opening statement.

Before calling the next speaker, I welcome to the Seanad Chamber the pupils of St. Felim's National School in Keadue, County Cavan. Cuirim fáilte rompu go léir. I extend a special welcome to their teacher, Ciara Farrell. I hope they will enjoy their trip to our Parliament and that they will learn something that will be of benefit to them.

When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Like every other Member here I was absolutely shocked by the savage attack on a young child, her protectors and her carers in a very public place. I was horrified by it. It matters little to me whether the person who perpetrated the crime was Irish, non-Irish, English or whatever. That is not the important thing. The important point is that this crime happened and it has to be condemned by each and every person here. I have heard a lot of arguments about what happened subsequently. I will confine my remarks in a br…

This Minister has done extremely great work. No one is talking about the crackdown on organised crime in this country or about the huge reduction in the level of violent deaths and assassinations, just to name one aspect. Our gardaí are doing a great job. There are people in the street and at home who depend on the Garda for reassurance. When things get fraught like this people - and especially elderly people - look to our politicians to introduce some level of calm and reassurance into their lives that things are …

I will finish up if the Acting Chair will give me one more minute. Some of these parties are only decades away from having supported murder and mayhem in this country, North and South. Some of these parties are only decades away from having supported the murder of my friend Jerry McCabe and many other Garda and Defence Forces personnel. Some of these parties are still commemorating the perpetrators of those crimes as heroes. It is time those parties stood up, got real and stopped speaking out of both sides of their…

Now.

Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Senator McDowell is full of surprises. Not only is he an outstanding public representative, author and jurist, but he is now an investigative reporter bringing us breaking news from Trinity College.

I think so. There will be time to pay tribute to David. It is one of the greatest boasts of my life that I have shared a Chamber with him for 16 or 17 years, and we will have so much more to say about the great work he did. I was given an opportunity last evening to meet the family of little Emily Hand - her father and her sister - and some other people from Israel whose families have either been slaughtered by Hamas or are currently being held captive by them. It was a very sad and poignant occasion. I was struck …

If my information is correct, it would appear that a matter went to the Cabinet today regarding gas energy security and that the Government has agreed to move towards the installation of a gas storage facility. This is to be welcomed, even though it took an awfully long time for a very obvious measure to be put in place. Unfortunately, I hear the recommendation is that this gas facility be constructed, owned and run by the State. This flies in the face of all reason. Most of our best projects have been as a result …

I welcome the Minister of State. I will put a few brief points on record. The Good Friday Agreement was a watershed in the long and troubled history of our country. We have failed to deliver on the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement and that is highly regrettable and frustrating for those of us who invested heavily in a peaceful way forward and in new relations between nationalists and unionists. Nationalists and unionists are both victims of their history and experience. As a young man from a republican h…

I have two minutes and I will not hang about. I commend the Tánaiste on the great work he is doing and the Government on its mature even-handed response to this crisis in the Middle East. The good image of Ireland on the international stage is under scrutiny. In that regard, we are not well served by gratuitous comment from some Irish public figures, whether they be in Europe, Leinster House or more elevated places. In my two minutes, I would like to put the focus on Hamas, because there has been relatively little …